All My Children Commentary

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The Best and Worst of All My Children 2013:
We've come to the end of another year, and once again we're saying goodbye to All My Children. This week we take one last look back at the things t... Read the column now...

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Okay, so it's no secret that I'm a huge Sweeps fan. In fact, I just like saying the word "Sweeps." Perhaps it has more to do with my personality than anything else---but I really get excited by the idea that for the next few weeks I'll be entertained by great storylines. Sure, I've been disappointed from time to time by lackluster storylines, but all in all I have been pleased with AMC's Sweeps stuff.

In recent Sweeps period, Marian "accidentally" slept with Stuart, Maria was killed in a plane crash, Laurel Dillon was gunned down on The Cutting Edge, and, if I am not mistaken, Tim locked Janet in a meat locker. This is top-notched stuff. If we were to go back in time, I'd guess that Tad and Billy Clyde Tuggle's infamous bridge confrontation was during a Sweeps period and the Who Killed Will? saga probably started and ended during Sweeps periods.

So what's the big deal with Sweeps---shouldn't the storylines be exciting all year round? Well, yes, I suppose they should. There is, however, a reason for the Sweeps madness. During the Sweeps periods (in February, May , and November), all shows' ratings are carefully monitored. At the end of these periods, a show's ratings determine how much money they can charge for advertising space. A top-rated
show like The Young and The Restless (or in primetime, ER) can command much more money than a show with fewer viewers, like Sunset Beach. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. Some shows are more popular among certain age groups and the amount ehy can charge for advertising can very. Shows that are popular among older audiences generally have to charge less for advertising because it has been proven that younger audiences (particularly the 18 to 30 year olds) are more receptive to advertising gimmicks and therefore use more of their disposable income on products they might otherwise not need.

Anyway, I actually get pumped up during Sweeps. I've actually been known to hoot and holler when something good happens on the show. Yeah, I'm a real die-hard fan. While I maintain a site about all of the soaps currently on the air, I remain true to---and only watch---All My
Children.

This month I am looking forward to watching several key storylines unfurl. I am still waiting to see if Kit is really Christine Montgomery. My initial thought was that she was---but I've been watching her carefully and I no longer think that she is. Perhaps she believes that she's
Christine, but that doesn't mean that she is (and it also would not make her a liar, oddly enough).

On the soapcentral.com site, we've got oodles and oodles of new stuff for you to check out. There are new Rhyme Tyme and Face This contests. And when November rolls around, that usually means it's Dankies times! This year is no different---we're going to start taking a look back at this past year and voting for the good, the bad, and the pretty. If you have not nominated your favorites, you'd better hurry up before you run out of time! And on another note, we're going to be introducing a brand new message board system later this month. It's not that unlike the one you've been using. In fact, the format is still the same. There will be new features and a new registration feature. This will add a level of privacy so that no one else can impersonate you on the message boards. So, November Sweeps will be exciting offline and online!